Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 7
Ecological Literacy
Knowledges of Nature
Despite great technological advances in agriculture, the value of the know-
ledges and practices of local communities is only slowly being acknowledged.
We often use the word traditional, yet it remains a problematic term. To
many, it implies a backward step - knowledge wrapped up in superstition
or quaint old ways - and there is no place for this in our modern world.
Traditional, though, is best thought of as not a body of knowledge itself,
but the process of knowing. If our lives involve continuous writing and
rewriting of our own stories, through adjusting behaviour, incorporating
new understanding into our cultures, and shaping and being shaped by
local nature, then knowledges are also undergoing continuous revision.
Darrell Posey, anthropologist and protector of the rights of the excluded,
quoted the Four Directions Council of Canada to produce a compelling
definition:
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